From the Wreckage

This thesis is an investigation of processes involved in the praxis of Tseil-Waututh knowledge systems, stemming from the longhouse and its value to people of Tsleil-Waututh nation in structure and to people in content and delivery. I journeyed through the process of writing a performance from a dance, the Swan Dance. It was under Len George's care and through this process that I learned to reflect and thus, revalue my body, mind and heart. I learned to love song and sound and to sense my relatives unconscious being, here in Toronto. I felt a sense of community, consciously, unprecedented in my adult life, except in one-on-one relations with siblings and my mother and in reflection. In reflection, I could not name this process, this understanding, but in spurts of words and recollections. It is in this light that the value of Tsleil-Waututh dance and its process of learning came. I turned the light onto this process and the light reflected back onto me, its birth and journey and my participation inside of it. It has inspired a writer to help stop the violence against women, by showing a purpose to, through a belief in tradition. Out emerged a people, warm and beautiful, dancing and singing and speaking.